


I want to show you the world

by Intangibel (duskbutterfly)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bed & Breakfast, Clary makes grand plans, F/F, alec asked for his blessing, first holiday together, luke deomstrating why he's the best dad ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 22:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9036038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duskbutterfly/pseuds/Intangibel
Summary: It's almost Christmas and Clary's determined that this year she and Izzy will have a chance to relax and celebrate together without interruptions or demon attacks. And that's not all she's got planned. She has one very special question to ask and she hopes Izzy will say yes.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Softjace](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Softjace).



> Special thanks to @LadyMatt who helped beta this fic. Written for [](softjace.tumblr.com>Softjace</a>%20I%20plan%20to%20add%20a%20second%20chapter%20to%20it%20in%20the%20new%20year%20with%20that%20mystery%20you%20wanted%20but%20unfortunately%20I%20was%20too%20sick%20to%20do%20it%20justice%20so%20I%20decide%20just%20to%20focus%20on%20Clary%20&%20Izzy%20%F0%9F%98%8A)

Clary had gotten up early so that she was already in the training room when Alec walked in. She figured this conversation was best held during a sparring session because even though Alex had warmed up to her since she'd started dating Izzy, she knew he still found a certain pleasure in knocking her on her ass occasionally to remind her of how much she still had to learn. And she liked training with him for that reason. He had never babied her, never lowered his standards or offered false praise, just taught her how to get better and acknowledged her progress. Today however, she needed Alec in as good a mood as possible so getting her butt kicked sounded like exactly the kind of shortcut she needed. Not that she was planning to intentionally throw the fight, that never worked with Alec and was guaranteed to achieve the exact opposite effect to what she wanted and make him mad. 

"Bo staffs okay with you?" Alec asked holding her favourite staff out to her, not bothering to ask why she was there and they'd dispensed with unnecessary greetings long ago, it was a compromise which suited them well. 

"Thanks," Clary said taking it. She was so glad that she didn't have to try and smile politely - it probably would have looked more like a grimace with the knots that were coiled so tight in her stomach. She and Alec weren't exactly friends but they definitely weren't enemies and she could tell he was trying more now that she and Izzy were serious and that meant the world to both her and Izzy. 

Clary did her best to focus as they started sparring, the thud of wood hitting wood and the rhythm of attacking and deflecting usually calmed her, taking her to this place where thinking slowed down and her body and senses took over. But today she couldn't stop thinking. Every time she tried to let go her mind slammed back into control and she kept thinking over and over about the words she wanted to say and how Alec might feel about it. She was surprised that aside from a few stinging cracks across her knuckles she'd stayed up so long but as soon as she thought it she felt her feet pulled out from under her and the ground rushing up to meet her, pushing all the air out of her lungs.

"That was good," Alec said offering her a hand up with the beginning of a smile twisting his lips, "you're planning better, staying two steps ahead. Now you need to make that three."

"Only three?" Clary asked teasingly.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"How much you like ending up on that mat." 

Clary laughed and was relieved to hear Alec join her. Step one accomplished. Now onto step two.

"Again?" Alec asked looking at her over the water bottle he'd just taken a sip from.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you first," Clary said grabbing her water bottle and trying to tell herself she wasn't stalling, she was thirsty. 

Alec just looked at her inquiringly, raising his eyebrows and tucking his top lip under as though he was trying very hard not to make a sarcastic comment but inviting you to go ahead and make his day if you wanted to, he'd wait.

"Well, the thing is," Clary paused, amazed how hard this was to say despite having rehearsed it practically non-stop in her head for weeks, "you mean everything to Izzy," Clary paused again trying not to react to the way Alec's expression now read 'no shit' more clearly than a newspaper headline, "I love her. I love her more than anything else in this world, including my mom."

Alec blinked at that, clearly surprised, which was understandable given how much trouble she'd caused him trying to save her mom when they’d first met. For the first time his expression softened to genuine interest, the corner of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"She means the world to me and I want to ask her to marry me," Clary heard Alec's sharp intake of breath but didn't pause, "and I wanted to ask you if you'd give us your blessing? I know you and I haven't always been close but having your support would mean a lot, to both of us."

There was a pause where Clary's heart squeezed painfully in her chest, her breath stalled and she suddenly felt the chill of the sweat they'd worked up cooling her skin as she started to wonder what she'd do if Alec said 'no'. She had been prepared for an angry 'no, definitely not' scenario but this calm silence was freaking her out. And then he smiled that lopsided smile of his and suddenly she could breathe again. 

"You make her happy in a way no-one else ever has,” Alec paused, thinking of the way he’d watched Clary slowly chipping away at the ice Izzy had put up around her heart after years of falling short of their parents expectations. He thought the way Clary had taught Izzy that having feelings, getting upset or tired or battered and bruised doesn't make her weak, it makes her human, because Clary always reminded Izzy that she was strong and powerful. He tried to find words for that, “you make her feel like she's a Queen, and she deserves that.”

 

Alec paused, thinking that ‘Queen’ was the closest he could come to describing the way Izzy had looked when she’d told him that she felt like she could be everything - a scientist, a warrior, a girlfriend, a fashion model, a love-sick puppy - all at once because with Clary she didn’t have to pretend to be something for someone else all the time. 

 

Clary couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had been so sure Alec would have reasons why this couldn’t and shouldn’t work yet, despite his pauses, he’d been supportive - he sounded proud. Then, just when she’d almost gotten used to this more expressive version of Alec and he looked like he was about to add to it, he frowned, looking sideways at her with apprehension and he closed up again as though remembering suddenly who he was talking to. 

 

It took a moment to realise that, in the flood of joy and relief she'd been feeling ever since he'd started talking, at some point she'd started to cry. Which explained his sudden withdrawal, Magnus might have opened Alec up to showing more of his feelings but tears were probably still well outside his comfort zone. 

"Sorry," Clary said sniffing and dashing away her tears with her fingers, "I just - thank you. And you’re right, if she says yes, I plan on spending the rest of my life making sure she has everything she's ever dreamed of," Clary managed to stop herself from babbling on, not wanting to wear out her welcome. 

 

"You do know that if you hurt her and for whatever reason she doesn't want to do the honours, I will make the rest of your life a living hell, right?" Alec asked with a lightness that belied the deadly serious expression in his eyes. It was a threat and if Clary had been any less sure that she could make Izzy happy then she would have been seriously worried about shortening her lifespan significantly because she knew, without a shadow of doubt, that she would be facing a fate much worse than death if she had the Lightwood's on her tail. 

"Trust me, Alec, if I hurt her then I wouldn't fight it, I'd take my due. 'Till death do us part' isn't just a line for me, I mean it."

"Good," Alec said bluntly and turned to pick up his staff again, obviously considering the matter closed.

"Actually, there's one more thing," Clary said more nervously than she expected, "I want to take Izzy away for a couple of days, book into a bed and breakfast in the Catskill Mountains and let her have a real holiday for once. One that can't be interrupted by a demon hunt or an emergency meeting, so that when I ask her to marry me she'll have had a chance to really see what it could be like just the two of us. I was thinking we could go up next week and still be back well before the Christmas madness starts."

 

 

“Well, I think you’re almost ready,” Luke said, making one last lap around the SUV Clary was borrowing to drive herself and Izzy up to the mountains. He stopped, hands braced on his hips, his loving expression rueful as he looked down at his little girl all ready to go off on this new adventure, “Michelle’s expecting you and she confirmed with me this morning that she’s putting you in the honeymoon suite. I have to tell you I got some pretty funny looks at the station when I had to read through your list and check she had all of the extra things you wanted like the flowers and champagne.”

 

“And she’s got it all? I mean, not just some of it?” Clary asked urgently, her hand reaching into her bag for her list as she tried to mentally review in her head what she had planned for each morning and evening. 

 

“Yes, Clary, she has it all sorted,” Luke said patiently, realising that now wasn’t the best moment to tease.

 

Clary felt all of the nervous tension drain back out of her body as if his words had pricked her worries like a pin and all of the fear had rushed out and disappeared. 

 

“Good,” Clary sighed. She couldn’t remember being this nervous about anything ever before. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster, excited one minute and terrified the next, over and over again.

 

“I said, it’s a good thing you’ve gotten lots of practice driving in the past few months and you’re leaving so early,” Luke said more loudly finally breaking into Clary’s distracted thoughts, “they’re expecting bad weather to hit tonight or early tomorrow morning.” 

 

“How-how bad?” Clary asked apprehensively. 

 

“They’re not sure. Michelle thinks it’ll be a short but intense snowstorm bringing lots of fresh snow for you to play in in the morning but the weather man seems to be muttering darkly about that storm gathering strength rapidly. You might end up having a more exclusive holiday than you planned,” Luke teased, not liking the worry still tugging at his daughter’s features, “isolated from the rest of the world even?”

 

“There is something magical about the idea of being snowed in with Izzy,” Clary said brightening the way he’d hoped. 

 

Luke chuckled knowing exactly where that particularly magical thought was going, it wasn’t like he’d never imagined getting snowed in with Jocelyn and having to snuggle up together for warmth and survival. Hearing him laugh, Clary blushed, indicating their minds had indeed run on similar tracks. 

 

“Come on, let’s grab Izzy’s present,” Luke said, nodding his head back towards his and Jocelyn’s apartment, “then you can go and pick her up and get out of town.”

 

Clary grinned and stretched out her arms tugging Luke into a hug. She had no-idea how she would have even gotten this far without his help. He was the best father she could have dreamed of and between teaching her to drive, encouraging her to introduce Izzy to the Fray household boardgame nights and then painstakingly helping her build the custom monopoly board that she was going to propose with - not to mention years of love and support to be whoever and whatever she wanted to be...he was just everything and she didn’t say that enough. 

 

 

“Look!” 

 

Clary grinned across at Izzy from the driver’s seat at the way her girlfriend was squirming in her seat as they started up the long drive into the small Bed & Breakfast. It was a beautiful old building set on the edge of a wooded park that always looked inviting no matter what the weather was like but Clary loved it best at Christmas. 

 

“Clary! Look, the trees!” Izzy said excitedly, pointing like a child as she realised that each and every tree up each side of the drive had been decorated with lights and Christmas decorations. Clary laughed, loving this childlike excitement from one of the fiercest, bravest Shadowhunters she knew.

 

“Just wait,” Clary said with an impish grin, “you haven’t seen the real christmas tree just yet.” 

 

“There’s -?”

 

Whatever Izzy had been about to say stalled in her throat as Clary turned the last corner of the drive and there it was, her favourite thing about coming here in winter. Directly in front of the Bed and Breakfast on the other side of the driveway was a real live 20-foot Christmas tree.

 

“Wow.” 

 

It was so soft Clary nearly didn’t hear it but one quick glance at Izzy’s face as she parked the car told her that Izzy had fallen in love with that tree just as she had the first Christmas she’d come here with her mom and Luke. It was the first holiday she remembered them going on together, she hadn’t really understood why at the time it’d been a big deal but now she was glad it could be another first, hers and Izzy’s first real holiday together.

 

Izzy was out of the car almost as soon as they’d stopped and Clary watched in amusement as Izzy didn’t even stop to grab her coat from the car she just rushed over, wanting to see the tree up close. 

 

‘So far, so good,’ Clary thought as she got more slowly out of the car, taking a moment to stretch and put her coat and gloves on before gathering up Izzy’s and walking slowly across to where Izzy was standing gazing up at the enormous tree. Izzy was so caught up in her excitement that she didn’t seem to notice that the snow flurries were falling faster now, coming to rest and sparkle on her hair like a ethereal crown. Clary had never seen anyone who looked as beautiful as Izzy did to her at that moment with her expression of awe and wonder. When she got close enough, Clary slung Izzy’s coat over her shoulders and wrapped her arms around her from behind, enjoying the way Izzy relaxed into her embrace, expecting and welcoming it. And for a while they stood together, simply enjoying watching the snow gently dusting the Christmas tree in the early afternoon sunshine. 

 

“Thank you,” Isabelle whispered, her lips brushing against Clary’s cheek as she turned to look into her eyes, “for bringing me here. It’s so nice to be away from it all for a while, to get a chance for it just to be about us for once, without any interruptions or emergencies.”

 

Clary felt her breath catch as Izzy’s soft lips caressed her cheek. She felt Izzy’s words as her warm breath contrasted with the sharp cold of the snow falling softly around them and was so glad that Izzy felt as she did, that this time was special. Their own special Christmas gift to each other. Unable to find words to express just how much this moment meant to her, Clary lent in brushing her lips just as gently across Izzy’s lips before trailing feather light kisses across her jaw, delighting in the way Izzy’s breath caught and her head gently drifted back to rest on Clary’s shoulder, giving her more access to the sensitive underside of her jaw. Moving ever so slowly Clary let her lips trail down the column of Izzy’s throat, loving the way she trembled when the tip of Clary’s tongue darted out to touch the points where she could feel her pulse pounding just under her skin. It’s not until Clary gently nips at the point where Izzy’s deflect rune turns dipping into the hollow at the base of her throat that Izzy’s passive enjoyment of Clary’s ministrations shifts. Her lips diving down to chase Clary’s as a hand tangled in red curls guides their lips together and Clary gives up any last pretense of control and allows Izzy to take over. 

 

Izzy’s lips tease clary’s apart, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip, her kisses more urgent as she gently turns Clary in her arms to face her. Clary almost forgets how to breathe when Izzy tugs her even closer, her leg slotting between Clary’s. Pressing their hips together sends a rush of heat flooding through Clary’s system as tension curled in her belly, her hips shifting as her body yearned for even closer contact, free from the confines of thick jackets and warm pants. 

 

At last, breathless and grinning like fools, they managed to pull away long enough to notice the snow building up all around them. Hand in hand they rushed back to the car, laughing as whenever they slipped or missed a step but never falling. At the car they could see their bags had already been taken in so they were able to grave the last of their belongings from the front seats and pass the car keys to the waiting attendant, John who would park their car safely in the heated garage. 

 

The Bed & Breakfast was owned by Michelle, one of Luke’s former colleagues at the Police Station who’d retired up there with her husband after her kids had grown up and moved away, and she met them at the door as they slowly made their way in. 

 

“Looks like you girls have been out playing in the snow or have you just been admiring our Christmas tree?” She asked winking conspiratorially at Clary, who knew her well enough to know she’d almost certainly been keeping an eye out for their arrival and knew exactly what they’d been doing under that Christmas tree. 

 

\------

 

“So does everyone get a fancy key at this hotel or is it just for friends of the family?” Izzy asked as she slotted the key into the vast door at the far end of a long corridor, away from the rest of the rooms. 

 

“I thought we should have something a little bit more - special seeing this is our first official holiday together,” Clary said taking the opportunity to move in close behind her, watching the tiny hairs on the back of Isabelle’s neck rise as she whispered in her ear. 

 

“Only if you don't count the time we had to take shelter from that massive hurricane that hit New York and got stranded for a couple of days due to the flood damage,” Izzy replied, arching an eyebrow as her eyes met Clary's, glinting with remembered passion. 

 

Clary felt a light blush colour her cheeks as she remembered that had been the night when she'd finally gotten up the courage to tell Izzy that she loved her. Hearing Izzy say it back had been one of the most special moments of her entire life and they'd both been so desperate to demonstrate just how much they loved each other that they'd barely gotten more than two hours of consecutive sleep throughout the whole night and next stormy day. Their appetites had been insatiable, reaching higher pinnacles of pleasure than Clary had even known were possible. Years later those memories were still so vivid she almost trembled.

 

“Well they are forecasting severe snowfalls tonight,” Clary whispered, her breath hot against Izzy’s neck as her lips grazed the shell of Izzy’s ear, “we might even be snowed in and cut off from the rest of civilisation.” 

 

“Combining old memories with new, I like it!” Izzy replied her voice huskier as she lent into Clary for a moment before winking and twisting the key, rushing into the room knowing Clary would understand the implication in her actions and join the race to the bed as they'd done so many times before. 

 

Clary had gotten so caught up in the moment, so aware of how much she wanted to demonstrate with both words and actions how much she adored and worshipped Izzy, that she didn't even realise Izzy had stopped at the end of the short hallway which opened out into the main room of the suite and almost cannoned into her. 

 

As Izzy stared at the beautiful room she began to notice the finer details, the touches that could only be at Clary’s request. The room was dominated by a king sized bed with an ornate cream bedspread embroidered with hundreds of love runes in fine golden thread, reminding Izzy of the golden dress she'd worn to Alec’s wedding, before the darkness that had brought them closer together as first friends and then lovers. The bed was framed on either side by a huge vase of long stemmed red roses that perfectly matched her favourite lipstick, while a third vase rested on the coffee table beside two champagne flutes and a bottle of real French champagne nestled in an ornate golden ice bucket. Izzy would bet that there were exactly 39 red roses in those bouquets - one for every month they'd been together. It was a tradition Clary had started on their very first monthversary, sneaking a single red rose onto Izzy’s dresser so that it was the first thing she saw when she woke up that morning. It had been two the second month, three the one after, always there before she woke up, even when the time had come that they'd been waking up together on that morning - Izzy still had no idea how she managed to do it without waking her up. Smiling so much her cheeks felt like they were going to split open, Izzy let her eyes wander across the rest of the suite, taking in the beautiful view from their window of a private, snow dusted balcony with a single path cleared to what looked like a hot tub, laughing when she realised it was adorned with an enormous red bow and what looked like an equally large gift tag she was willing to bet had her name on it. And probably a line of sinful the kind of poetry Clary always composed for her and left as notes on her pillow or written in lipstick on the mirror whenever she couldn't stay in the morning or had an overnight patrol. Finally Izzy looked towards the far end of the room where a small kitchenette was partially hidden by a high marble counter topped with a literal tower of her favourite chocolate and she felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes, Clary must have gotten them shipped specially from Brazil, her own stash had run out months ago. Overwhelmed Izzy spun round to face Clary, she hardly knew where to start - no one, not even her father or Alec who both positively showered her with gifts each birthday, had ever gone to this much trouble just for her. 

 

“How could I possibly deserve you, Clary? This is just -” Izzy paused, at a loss for words as she reached out to cup Clary’s cheek drawing her closer, her lips brushing compliments against Clary’s lips between kisses that lit up every part of her body like fireworks and were more potent than absinthe, “mi amor. Mi corazon. Mi vida…Te amo Clary, te amo.”

 

At last, after what felt like forever, Clary managed to pull away just far enough to look at Izzy properly. Gazing into Izzy’s eyes as she whispered, “you deserve the world Isabelle Lightwood and I intend to spend my entire life proving that to you.”

 

Clary might have made all kinds of complicated plans for this proposal but now that she was here, wrapped up in Izzy’s arms as the snow fell heavily outside, cutting them off from the rest of the world, she knew that all that really mattered was her and Izzy being together, everything else was just icing on the cake.


End file.
